Can You Imagine?
by Lbeen393
Summary: Extremely AU, although it is set in the marauders' time. About an American outsider who attends Hogwarts very late in the 'game'. The story is set in her POV. Will NOT continue to the night of James' and Lilys' deaths, FYI. Sorry I suck at summaries
1. Where Am I Going?

**A/N: **I felt like writing a story that was parallel to my life, and how I view the world…I know it doesn't sound like the most terrific idea, but I think this is how I'm going to get back into the habit of writing, so I'm starting with what I know best=). I'm not asking you to love it, just read it? And review perhaps? Please??

I'm relating this to Harry Potter, because once I thought about it, I realized this would make a cool AU fic…hopefully. And to be perfectly honest, I'm not creative enough to come up with characters of my own…So anything you recognize as Harry Potter, is obviously J.K. Rowling's, and not mine.

I never considered myself special, or out of the ordinary. I was perfectly ordinary, and was mildly content with how my life was going. The truth was, I was a plain, un-magical, imperfect, melodramatic fifteen year old who, just as the name of my grade stated, was extremely sophomoric. No one could convince me that I was still immature, and had a long way to go before I reached a level of complete maturity, and I didn't have enough sense to realize that I should've been basking in my years of youth and adolescence, instead of denying how young and naïve I truly was.

I walked around my ordinary high school with my head held high, and my ego inflated. No one could talk any sense into me, not even my parents. That is, until they died.

I can still remember that day clearly. I was a bit of a day-dreamer, you see, and worried that every time the phone rang at a random time during the school day, that it was to call me down to the office, or the nurse, to tell me my parents had passed and I was doomed to whatever they left behind for me. Of course, by the time I reached high school, I learned to ignore those stupid day-dreams…or more like day-mares…

Anyway, I was sitting in the middle of my favorite class of the whole day, Art. I excelled in this class, and had an excellent relationship with the teacher, whom I had had for two years already. He was one of the few adults that really gave me some sort of clue as to how young I actually was at this time, my parents' right there with him. As soon as he called my name to go down and see the principal, I realized something was horrible wrong. Just the way he looked at me, like he might never seem me again, and had no idea what awaited me outside of his door, scared me to death.

The look my principal gave me wasn't much better. This one was one of pity, which I detested earnestly. I've never wanted to be pitied, no matter how pitiful my situation was, or how much I even pitied myself. I can't exactly remember how he phrased the information he gave me; all I know is that he didn't even bother asking me to follow him to his office, he let me know my parents were dead right there amongst the teachers' mailboxes, and the secretaries typing away. I realized that if my mom were still alive, and I told her that he was careless enough as to tell me something this important and this private in front of a number of people, that she would be very angry. However, my train of thought didn't have time to dwell on that; I was too preoccupied jumping to conclusions. Conclusions like, how they died, and who I would be living with…I had no relatives in this country, and no siblings to even look after. I was all alone, and I immediately felt angry that they could both abandon me like this, how could they just leave me like this? It wasn't right, and with a jolt, I realized how selfish that thought was. They couldn't do anything about their deaths, unless they committed suicide, obviously.

It was only sixth period when I found out; the very middle of my day. If everything went as a normal Tuesday should have gone, I would've went from art to AP European History, to English. And after school, I had swim practice, and maybe I'd get lucky and see Matt at the pool (I'll explain later). But instead, I was whisked away to the house I'd previously shared with my parents, escorted by my guidance counselor. How odd, I was told to get my things and say my final goodbyes to the only home I'd ever had. All in front of an authority figure, whom I'd never in my wildest dreams, be able to place in my house.

Nonetheless, I managed to walk through my front door, and even made it past the living room before breaking down. I lost it, however, when I saw for about the millionth time, a frame holding three pictures depicting my parents and I in each one. The first was from my best friend's bat mitzvah. My mom, embarrassing both my father and myself, had gotten up in the middle of the father-daughter dance just to take the picture. In it, we were both beaming, busting at the sides with laughter…at how ridiculous the situation was. Neither of us was ever very sentimental, or touchy-feely. The first and last thing we had in common. The second, I took while on vacation one summer. It was of my mother and father, sitting on a bench at the beach, and the lighting was absolutely beautiful. We had gone down to the bay to watch the sunset, and with the orangey-pink light to my back, I had turned to face my parents and take a snapshot of the two. They smiled serenely back at me as I stood, shaking from grief, in the middle of our hallway. And lastly, the most recent picture was a picture from Christmas. We had hosted a huge party for my whole family; cousins and aunts and uncles came from both my mother and father's side (luckily they were all very close…my parents had grown up together). They came from far and wide, all from countries other than ours, to spend the holidays. I don't know how we did it, but we managed to all gather before the tree, sparkling and adorned with ornaments from my childhood, and the beautiful stylish ones my mother bought from a local department store. Every single person in the picture was pink-cheeked and absolutely radiant, enjoying the happy time spent together. I would give anything to go back to that day; because right then, I had no other happy memory to hold onto except for that one, and it was the only thing giving me comfort at that moment.

With my guidance counselor watching, I set out to pack a few bags of the most valuable belongings to bring along with me. I dumped all of my books out of my backpack, and took a duffel bag I used during the lacrosse season to pack everything that I needed. I began to feel frantic, as I surveyed my room, and started to consider what I wanted to take along with me, where ever I was to go. In my mind, family photos and legal documents were at the very top of my list, and luckily my mother was a very organized person. I nearly jogged around my house, first to the desk in my parents' bedroom where I gathered documents such as my birth certificate, working papers, etc. Then, I headed to our basement, where I swiftly located a huge cardboard box full of family photos. This was where I was most concerned about time. I couldn't take them all with me, and I had no idea if I was ever able to come back. I obviously wanted to keep the photographs that I left behind safe, so I also dumped out a box of old Barbie dolls that was plastic and air-tight, and fit the cardboard box easily inside. I carried both back to my bedroom, where I double-checked that the lid was on nice and snug, and put it into the back of my closet. I already knew the photos I wanted to take with me.

Turning away from my closet, I went into the hallway once again and took the frame with the three precious family photos in it, took off the back and put the pictures into a little photo album I kept in my room. It already had some of my favorite pictures depicting happy family, and friends in various stages of life. I had even managed to hoard away a few old pictures of my parents as teenagers, as well as my grandparents. I left my room and headed to the living room, my album in hand. Quickly, I took all the pictures my mother had framed neatly on our mantelpiece, and put them in that stupid purple album of mine. There were a few pictures from when I was little, which I didn't care too much about, but also my parents' wedding photo, a picture of the three of us the day I came home from the hospital, and a couple from various birthdays with relatives all currently living far away.

Walking back into my room, feeling a bit relieved that I had already gotten the two things I thought I needed the most; I decided to add clothing to those bags. I opened the drawers in my dresser with a second thought, and pulled out two pairs of favorite jeans, a couple of comfortable band t-shirts, socks, underwear, and from my closet, I threw in a sweatshirt, grabbed a dress, and a pair of pants and shirt that I would consider wearing to a funeral. With a bit of anxiety, I wondered whether I was even going to be able to attend my parents' funeral, or if they were going to have one? Who was supposed to organize all that mess, and who was going to tell the rest of our family? At this point, I still wasn't sure how they'd died, either. Without any parents in my life, I was already lost, and it had only been about an hour or so since they'd been completely absent from it.

I started going through a checklist in my head. Birth certificate: check, passport: check, pictures: check, clothes: check. What else would I need in the unknown and dismal future ahead of me? I decided to throw in a few of my favorite books, I had enough. So into my backpack, I put all of Jane Austen's works that I owned, a few of Charles Dickens' books, Black Beauty, and The Secret Garden. Oh, and as an afterthought, Jane Eyre as well as Wuthering Heights. Next, I shoved my diary into my half-empty backpack, and a huge binder I wrote various poems and stories in. I had never considered myself an outstanding writer, but I was getting better at it. Luckily, as I put that binder into my backpack, I remembered my memory box. I kept old pictures as well as movie ticket stubs, play bills, old tests, awards, and anything else random that brought back memories for me. That went into my backpack, and I sat on my bed afterwards, at a loss as to what else to bring. My duffel bag wasn't nearing full, and my backpack definitely was now.

"What else, what else," I was muttering to myself, as my guidance counselor appeared awkwardly in my doorway.

"Let's hurry up; we have a limited amount of time here." I almost laughed out loud, thinking that if someone else, possibly Gandalf had said that, it would seem much more ominous than if Mrs. Rosert had. I wrote a mental note to myself to consider writing about that in my diary later. If I had the chance later, gosh I hated not knowing what was going to happen to me within the next week, let alone the next hour.

I looked down to the end of my bed, and stuffed a beloved teddy bear into the duffel bag, and noticed that there was still room. I was already wearing my sneakers, so I was set with shoes; if I had worn my ballet flats to school that day, I definitely would've changed into my converse, just because I had a suspicion that I would be walking, or possibly even running, a bit. With a frantic glance at Mrs. Rosert's neck, I remembered my mother's jewelry. That was something I definitely wanted to keep near to me, and I ran into her room once more, and thanked her that she kept everything so neat! All of her jewelry was contained in the same box, which would easily fit into my duffel bag. Passing through my doorway, I knocked my sketchpad off of its shelf. Man, how odd that things were practically throwing themselves at me, just begging to be taken along. I packed the sketch pad along with a box of charcoals, pencils, and oil pastels into my now bulging backpack, and the jewelry box went into the duffel bag. I spun around my room one last time, grabbed my bags, and shot a longing look at my lacrosse stick. Who knew where I was going, and how long it would be until I was able to play again. I would buy a new one if I had to, and that's when I remembered my savings box. So I dashed to my dresser once again, and shoved all the money I'd saved for the last couple of years into the front pocket of my backpack. On the back of my door on the way out, was a still wet bathing suit. I shot a guilty glance its way, as I realized that it would probably be quite awhile until I swam again as well.

"Let's go, Miss Toal." I wanted to start crying once again, only from frustration this time.

"But where? Where must we be off to?" Okay, so that was a little formal, and I felt a little stupid after saying it, but I didn't care. I wanted information, and I wanted it now.

"Back to school, of course, we have to return your textbooks." I really wanted to scream at something, maybe even get violent. And I wasn't a violent person, but I guess you'll have to take my word on that one.

"Why 'of course'? And where am I going after that?" My question wasn't answered of course, because Mrs. Rosert's phone rang just then.

"That was the principal. He wants us back to the school right now." So I followed her, grudgingly, down the hall and into the entryway. At that moment, I felt like a prisoner, because no one would tell me what happened, and I wasn't getting any information as to where I was going. Of course, that led me to think about my 'one phone call'. Because if I really was a prisoner, I wanted to let someone know what was happening, hopefully so they could help me. I'm not even sure if my guidance counselor realized that I deftly opened the drawer in a bureau we had just before the front door and took out our phone book or not, but if she did, then she definitely didn't realize what I meant to do with it. One way or another, I was going to get out of this unfortunate circumstance; I was going to have some say in what happened to me.

**A/N:** Okay so it's not too obvious what's happening here, but I just want you guys to know that very very soon, this will all be linked to Harry Potter…but beyond that, I have no clue where this story is going. However, I do not intend to bring it all the way to the end of the story, where Lily and James are killed, because I don't want to write about something everyone already thoroughly knows about. That ending is always implied whenever a story about the marauder's time is written, anyway. I hope you like it!! Please review, I want some feedback!!!!


	2. Saying Goodbye

I was quite amused to be walking back into my school, after being pulled out of class and leaving the first time around. I had checked the clock on the radio in Mrs. Rosert's car, and realized it was only five minutes until the end of eighth period. If we couldn't make it from the faculty parking lot, through the building, to the other side where the principal's office was, my classmates would get to see me with an overly full backpack, and a rather curiously full duffel bag. Not to mention that you could probably read my thoughts and feelings like an open book; my face being the page. I was really crummy at masking my emotions, and my friends definitely knew something was up by now.

We hadn't taken two steps into the building when the bell for the end of eighth period rang. I practically laughed at the irony of it all. In all my day-mares, I was never able to come up with a circumstance as awkward as this one was turning out to be.

With the masses of students in the halls, I lost my guidance counselor. Once I realized that she was already far up ahead, and was not looking back to see if I was behind her, I realized that this was the time to make my little 'escape'. I wanted to tell my friends the truth, before they were left to succumb and believe the awful rumors that were bound to come.

"Liz! Where were you seventh period? And why do you look like you're ready to spend the week upstate or something?" This was the first of the bombardment of questions which was to follow very quickly. My friend Ally stood in front of me, a very puzzled look on her face.

"Because uhm…well," for whatever reason, I was having a hard time spitting out the truth. It's not like I was going to lie or anything, but I just didn't want anyone to see me cry; that would make this all so much worse. Not to mention, that the truth almost sounded like a lie to me right about now. I couldn't believe it; how were my friends going to?

"Come here, we'll go upstairs and find Nicole first, so you don't have to repeat yourself." I was very thankful that Ally could, and would read my like any other book she ever did; quickly and efficiently, not one to miss a single detail. She grabbed my hand and we hurried up the stairs to Nicole's locker.

"Ally? Liz, what's wrong!?" Nicole was immediately worried. She and I were so alike, always jumping to the most pessimistic conclusions.

I managed to hold back my tears by staring very intently at my feet. "My parents died today." I realized that my friends couldn't possible think that I was lying, because of the emotion evident in my voice, written on my face, and conveyed by my body language. They were silent for awhile, automatically recalling that I had no relatives within this country; they all lived either in Great Britain or various countries throughout Europe.

"So they're putting you on a plane and sending you away?" Nicole, again, the one to think pessimistically.

"I don't know what they're going to do with me; they're making me return all my textbooks and I had a little under an hour to pack everything I wanted to bring along with me. No one even told me how they died." And that was the second time that day that I lost it; only this time it wasn't awkward because it was in front of an out of place authority figure. This time it was awkward because it was in front of my friends, and the rest of the student body who happened to be in the hallway at that time. Which, of course, included Matt.

Matt Alders was a junior, who was on my bus. We started talking in my freshman year, whenever we'd both take the bus home in the afternoons. This year, I saw him at the pool every once in a while, after swim practice. The fact that he swam and wanted to get a job as a lifeguard made me crush on him even more than I already was. He just happened to be walking past my friends and I in the hallway, and stopped when he saw the state I was in. With him, I couldn't ever tell if he just considered me a friend, or something more. Anyway, he cared enough to stop and not say anything at first, but observe the situation.

"Liz…" he wanted to make sure that I was okay, which I appreciated quite a bit, seeing as everyone else that I knew in that hallway just stared in my direction; they didn't want to comfort me at all.

"Hi Matt, I'm sorry, but I really can't talk right now." I turned to Nicole and Ally, hugging them both for the last time; I didn't know if it actually would be, or if I'd ever get to see them again. "I'll call you guys really soon, okay? Don't worry about me too much."

"Lizzie, that'll be near impossible. Call as soon as you possibly can, even if you don't know what's going to happen, we want to hear from you regardless." Nicole said for both her and Ally. I was surprised Ally hadn't said anything after pulling me upstairs with her; I think she was trying to form some sort of plan to see me again, or just taking in the severity of the whole situation.

When I turned back around, Matt was still there, now with a serious look of worry in his chocolate brown eyes. He was too shy and too considerate to ask what, but concerned enough to follow me down to the office.

I hadn't been as bold as I ever was with him, except for that day.

"Matt," I said, as he walked beside me down the emptying hallway, "I don't think I'm ever going to see you again, so I just want you to know that I really did like you. A lot and I probably will for awhile. Good luck with high school. I wish I'd kissed him on the cheek that day, but I wasn't that bold. As if taking a cue, Matt stopped walking at the end of the hallway, and just watched me continue on down the stairs by myself. I wish that goodbye went differently, but I have no idea how I wish it would've gone.

"There you are Elizabeth," Mrs. Rosert said, as I walked into the principal's office. Her tone of voice suggested that I should've felt guilty for escaping her in the hallway, but the look she gave me and the easiness of the task hinted otherwise.

"Sorry, I had to say goodbye to some friends first," I said without any guilt whatsoever. They should've let me go and say goodbye to my friends, I didn't expect how cruel the adults in my school could be.

I was ushered into the principal's office, and after waiting for some time, he entered.

"Elizabeth Toal," he started off.

"Yes?"

"You've gathered everything?"

"Yes and Mrs. Rosert brought my textbooks back with her."

"Excellent. Now, about your remaining relatives…"

"None of them live in the U.S." I finished for him. "I know, and I want to call my Aunt Lydia, she lives in Glasgow.

"I'm afraid you can't make a phone call out of the country from the school phones." Luck was not on my side today. Well, obviously not; my parents were dead.

"And I'm afraid of what is going to happen to me, and where I'll end up by the end of the day," I said, in a very facetious tone.

"Okay then, I believe the police station has decided that you will be escorted to the airport, and put on a plane that leaves for London in," he looked at his watch, "five hours. You will take your bags with you on the plane as carry-ons, and your Godmother was contacted to pick you up there tomorrow, at the time of your arrival."

Although my Godmother **was **my Aunt Lydia, and that was precisely why I wanted to call her, I didn't feel like filling in the principal.

"Okay, when are the police getting here to escort me to the airport? And where is my ticket?" I recalled luckily, that I had my passport tucked away with my supply of American money in my backpack. I only wished that I had had the chance to exchange some of it over here, other than the airport, so the rates would be better, and less expensive.

"We expect them within the hour, and your ticket was purchased by your Aunt over in Great Britain, so once you get to the airport and check in, they will give you a print-out of it.

For the better part of eighth period, I sat in the Principal's office. There were a few teachers who eyed me curiously, and even a few asked me how I was holding up. The students sent to the office for various errands, or for punishment just stared at me in bewilderment. I was so out of place there. Of course, just as the end of eighth period rolled around, a police officer came in to bring me to the airport.

"Elizabeth Toal?"

"Yes, that's me."

"May I see your passport?" I handed it to him, after taking it out of my bag. I expected this, seeing as it was a reliable form of identification.

"Okay, I'm bringing you to the airport. Is this all you're bringing?"

"Yes, sir."

"Let's go then, I'll sign you out of school."

Once we got through the school, I was pretty sure that almost everyone knew something was up. How could they not, I was getting a police escort out of the building! I almost couldn't wait to hear about the ridiculous rumors Nicole and Ally were sure to pass on to me.

The officer put both my bags in the trunk of his patrol car, and his partner even let me take the front seat on the way to the airport. These two were much nicer than my principal or guidance counselor had been, and even answered my questions…well, almost all of them.

"What is going to happen to my house?"

"Your parents left it to you, so we've asked the neighbors to take care of it and we're going to make sure everything inside stays safe as long as you're living in England with your Aunt."

"Thank you," I said, relieved that I'd be able to go back and get the rest of those family pictures. But then I realized that I still hadn't been told how my parents died.

"Uhm…I know this may sound odd, but no one told me how my mom and dad died," I said, timidly. I felt stupid once I asked the question, seeing as both officers remained silent for a while after.

"Mysterious Circumstances." I looked at the replying officer like she was crazy. She gave me an apologetic look back, knowing how confused I was. "We're not supposed to say, and actually, I'm not even 100% of it myself." That was all anyone told me for a long time about their death.

**A/N: **Okay, so within the next two chapters, I'm hoping to tie this all together with HP…but we are making some progress, right? I mean, she's headed to England!!

Anyway, I'd like to thank the quick response by Aquamarineocean. And even though I can't reply to her review, I will ASAP!

Is anyone willing to BETA me?? I really need some help here, as you may be able to see. I'd really appreciate it! And I promise, I'm going to update this quite frequently; my swim season just ended Saturday, so I'm going to have plenty of free time in the next couple of weeks.


	3. Normal ConversationsNOT

We arrived at the airport with three hours before my flight. The officers who escorted me there waited until they were sure I had a ticket for the flight at six. The flight was seven hours, and with the time difference I'd be getting to London early sometime the next morning. Lucky for me, I got to sleep on the plane.

The whole airport experience was one I could've done without, honestly. So I'm going to attempt to not think about it…at all. And on the plane, well I had a window seat, and for once didn't get stuck to the most horrible person ever. Honestly, I can't remember the person who was seated next to me at all; I slept the entire time, and read for the rest of it.

When I got to Heathrow airport, I was thoroughly exhausted and in denial. I could not, would not believe that mere hours ago I was told about the deaths of my parents, and had to say goodbye to my friends, possibly forever, if not for a very long time. However, I wasn't too upset about living in England. I loved my Aunt Lydia, and if I had to choose whom I were to live with, I would've chosen her anyway. My Aunt Lydia lived in Glasgow, Scotland, just outside the capital, Edinburgh. She was the most optimistic person I think I'd ever met, and always made me feel at home. Whenever we went for a visit, I felt like I could live in her home, with her family, and it turns out that I was now!

My Aunt Lydia was married to my Uncle Will. He was a workaholic, unfortunately and although almost never home, there was no doubt that he and my Aunt loved each other. He was nice enough, although I didn't love him quite as much as Aunt Lydia. They had two children together; my cousins Thomas and Andrew. Thomas had sandy blonde hair and plain, understated blue eyes. He was turning out to be quite the heartbreaker, with his good looks and such. Thomas was a little more than a year younger than I, and we got along splendidly. Andrew couldn't less like Thomas. True, he was still young so there was no telling if they'd resemble one another once Andrew grew up a smidge more. But his flaming red hair and gorgeous clear blue eyes hinted otherwise. He had more energy than he knew what to do with, and enjoyed playing any kind of organized sport possible. His favorite however was football (yes, even though I grew up in the States, I still call the sport football instead of soccer). He was almost always dirty, and was now about eleven. A little too young for me to be close to him, but I adored him all the same.

"Oh, Liz! There you are!" It hadn't taken my Aunt very long to spot me out in the crowd. I was the only passenger coming off of the plane who did not go straight towards the luggage pick-up area. I let my backpack slide off of my shoulder, and dropped my duffel bag in order to hug my Aunt Lydia. I missed her so much since the last time she'd visited, not to mention that I was quite emotionally exhausted at this point. I was so thankful that my Aunt was so caring, and I could feel it seeping through her hug. When she let go of me, she sized me up, trying to do the normal 'oh my how you've grown!' bit every Aunt does after a year of absence from a niece. I could plainly see tears making her eyes glisten however, and felt the wetness reflected in my own. Aunt Lydia and my mother had been close; they were considered 'Irish twins' and had grown up much like twins would. It was no surprise that she was my godmother, and my own mother was Thomas and Andrew's.

"How are you?" I asked, trying to convey all that I meant. Which would be, how are you taking all this news, as well as how have you been since I've seen you last?

"Oh, everything's peachy keen," she said, and I almost believed her, except for the nagging reminder that her best friend, her little sister was now dead.

"I brought pictures," I said, hoping that this would bring some sort of comfort to my Aunt. She smiled at me through her silent tears.

"How thoughtful of you!" Even though she wasn't shouting it, I could still hear the little exclamation in her voice that let me know how much she appreciated the thought.

"Thanks, I couldn't bring them all, but we could always go back for the rest," I said, realizing that in reality, it wouldn't be a while until we were able to go back to my old home. And sadly, that's how I thought of it in my head. My old home; the one I'd previously shared with my parents. How heartbreaking was it that I was already getting used to the idea that even though I was still an America citizen, I lived in Scotland now.

"Of course we could," Aunt Lydia said, as she reached around me to grab my duffel bag. I picked up my forgotten backpack as well, and we walked out to her car.

The ride from Heathrow airport to Glasgow was nearly six and a half hours by car. I for one, loved car rides, and did not complain an ounce. I felt badly that Aunt Lydia had to come all this way, and all the way back just for a five minute pick-up from the airport. During this car ride, I managed to fall asleep more, and just remain extremely calm, and serene; something I hadn't managed to do for a good day or so. I couldn't even tell if it'd been a day since my parents died; I was so bad at math. But I did know that I loved car rides, because they made me feel so peaceful. And that the English country side was gorgeous to me, even if it was raining, and a bit foggy.

By the time we got to Aunt Lydia's home, she looked exhausted. It was two in the afternoon at that point, and my sense of time was so thrown off, due to the jet lag I was only suffering from mildly, but mostly because of how long we spent in the car. If I do anything for too long, my sense of time gets thrown off; that's just how it is with me.

"Lizzie!" Thomas's greeting told me he was happy to see me, however grim the circumstances. I was happy to see him too, and I was a little ashamed to realize that I was excited about living with him.

"Hi Liz," Andrew had come bounding out of the house with Thomas as well. He gave me a little hug, before asking what was for lunch. I had to giggle a little at how cute he was. And I knew that he hated when I called him cute, so I had to hide my amusement from him.

"Let's go boys, back into the house. We have a lot to talk about," my Aunt Lydia said, as she ushered all three of us into the modest house. I walked through the door last, taking a nice long look at the welcoming living room to my right, and the cozy family room to my left. In front of me, were the stairs that led upstairs, and as I walked down the hall past them, I came upon the kitchen to my right. To my left, was another entry into the family room. If I had continued to follow the little hallway, I would've made my way past a water closet, across from the coat closet, and into the dining room. The kitchen was where everyone was already seated, so I took a seat at the table in the corner of the room as well.

"Liz, you can put your things up in the guest bedroom…well, your bedroom now." My Aunt Lydia smiled; reassuring me that it was okay I took the only empty bedroom. Thomas and Andrew shared a room already, but I felt badly about taking away the only opportunity Thomas had to get away from his kid brother. My cousin was easy-going however, and didn't seem to mind in the least.

After taking my shoes off and putting them neatly under the bend in the hallway, I made my way up the stairs which came to an end directly in front of my new room. I loved the little room, even if I had to step down into it, and the ceiling was a little low. I was fairly short, so that wasn't any issue for me. The two windows on the left and back walls made me smile each time I looked out of them; I loved having a view, even if it was a view of other houses, and some empty fields used for farming. The bed was a small twin, and the quilt on it my Aunt May had sewed together. It matched the butter cream yellow walls peculiarly, because it was a periwinkle blue. The colors complimented each other, and were two of my favorite, so I wasn't complaining in the least. The little potted geranium on the desk across from the bed made me smile. My Aunt, as well as my grandfather, had a green thumb. Luckily, my love for plants and gardening matched theirs. My mother was never too keen on getting dirty, although she did try with our garden, to fail over and over again. I slung my backpack over the back of the worn wooden chair placed out of the way, next to the desk, and put my duffel bag on the neatly made bed. I took one last look at the room, before I headed back downstairs.

"So we're going to tell her, about the magic?" I must've been delirious from the long plane as well as car ride, because I definitely didn't just hear my cousin mention magic. That was the stuff of fairytales, wasn't it? It couldn't possibly be apart of reality.

"Yes, Thomas, we are," I heard my Aunt Lydia reply. Okay, now I was sure I'd lost it. I don't know where, but I definitely had lost it.

"Is Lizzie going to go to Hogwarts?" I heard Andrew ask, most likely between mouthfuls of lunch.

"Maybe," was all Aunt Lydia replied. There was a real sense of possibility in her voice that scared me. She didn't have a clue as to what to do with me, and I could tell just by her voice.

I took a deep breath, and walked into the room to face my family, to face whatever magic they were talking about, and possibly my own insanity.

"Grab a seat, Liz." My Aunt was always so welcoming, even when I could plainly see concern and uncertainty etched across her pretty features.

"What was it that you wanted to talk about?" I asked. I could almost hear my own voice shaking, but maybe that was just because I hadn't eaten in a while. A long while, I realized, as I saw Andrew's enticing roast beef sandwich.

"Well, actually it's about your education," my Aunt replied, obviously unsure of how to spring the whole 'magic' thing on me. She seriously underestimated me, didn't she? Then again, out in the hallway a few minutes ago, I thought I was crazy. And what about now? Well, I wasn't much better, but I wasn't going to flip out on anyone, just bombard them with questions.

"Yeah, I figured this might be a slight problem." I knew my cousins went to boarding school, and realized now that it was odd for them to be home. It was November, so why wouldn't they be at school? Unless, of course, they'd been given special permission to come home in time to greet me.

"Well, you see, Thomas and Andrew…they go to a special school." I decided right then and there to get things moving. I couldn't stand the suspense any longer. It wasn't doing me any good, and it I could tell my Aunt was extremely uncomfortable, just as Thomas seemed to be. Andrew though, was practically humming away as he ate.

"Yeah, I heard. Hogwarts and I know its boarding school. I hate to admit I overheard you guys, but I did. And I heard the word 'magic' thrown in there, so am I going crazy? Or is there something that I've been oblivious to my entire life?"

My Aunt looked ready to jump up and hug the stuffing out of me, that's how relieved she seemed. Thomas actually let out a sigh of relief himself, and Andrew laughed. But then it was time to get serious again.

"Well, yes. There is a whole other world out there, Liz. A world which your parents moved to America to keep you away from."

"Okay, was there any particular reason as to why?" I really had no idea why my parents would keep something so big from me. I mean really, they obviously had to know, based on what my Aunt just said, and Thomas and Andrew were also involved! So why hadn't Aunt Lydia removed them from this world as well?

"It's complicated to tell you, but they moved to the States for work, and just thought it'd be easier to raise you to be…"

"Unmagical?"

"A muggle."

"A what?"

"It's the term used for 'unmagical'."

"Oh, but I still don't understand why," I said. I was getting a smidge frustrated that my questions seemed to love to go unanswered.

"Well, okay. There is a very, very dark wizard on the loose in and around Great Britain. A wizard so evil, that your parents wanted to protect you, in case they ever had to move back here for work, so decided to withdraw you from that world forever. Not to mention though, that the schools and wizarding community in America aren't as profound and prestigious as they are over here. They saw no reason for you to get such a poor magical education, when you could get such a decent, muggle one."

"Okay, that makes it a whole lot better." So my parents wanted to protect me. And let me get the better education, I was okay with that. But still peeved that I'd been missing out on all this wonderfulness my whole life! I mean, I loved all the fairytales I'd ever listened to; I loved the whole idea of magic! How could my parents see my near obsession, and not tell me about this? "But my next question is; Am I a witch?"

"Yes, you are. Only, you have no idea how to harness your powers at all." Oh, Aunt Lydia, always the brutally honest one.

"Sweet! And how will I be able to learn how to harness these powers? Because you know I totally want to." I was getting even more excited now. Jeez, not the best just after learning that my parents are DEAD! Yeah that's right, they're never coming back, and you'll never be able to tell them how totally awesome your new life is. That didn't cross my mind in the least, and I continued with my cheery mood.

"You'll go to Hogwarts with Thomas and Andrew of course, I'm just unsure if you'll begin now, or next September. In which case, I would either tutor you, or you'd go to a muggle school." I didn't want to go back to muggle school, not after I learned about the new and exciting world that I could finally be apart of.

"Well how do we find out?"

"I'll have to send an owl to the Headmaster."

"A what to the what?" I was so Americanized, I guess I didn't realize they called principals over here headmasters. But I knew that no matter where you were in the world, you did not use owls to communicate. Maybe pigeons, but not owls.

"We communicate by owls, all wizards do. And the headmaster; the guy who runs the whole school, Professor Dumbledore." Thomas was quick to help out his mom with at least part of the explanation.

"Woah! He's even got a cool name!" I burst out laughing. Maybe it was because of all the emotional stress I'd been under, or maybe it was because I was completely loosing it, but I just couldn't help myself. First I was laughing because I thought his name was funny, and then I was laughing at the owl thing, and finally I realized I was laughing at the whole situation. I was sitting in my cousins' kitchen, having what should've been a normal conversation. But no, it wasn't. We were talking about a guy name what was it? Pumblebore? Bumblepore? Oh, that's right. Dumbledore. And my Aunt was going to attach a letter to an owl's leg to let him know that I'd be attending his school, Hogwarts. This, if you substituted the words, could literally mean gross bumps on pigs.

When I was finished with my little episode, Thomas was giggling himself, and my Aunt was beaming at me from the window, where a brown owl was sitting patiently, waiting for a letter to be tied to his leg. Wow, this would take some getting used to. Not just the owl thing, but I mean the whole I'm a witch, and I'm going to go to a school called Hogwarts with a guy named Dumbledore running the place.


	4. I can't have a crush already!

"Good news!" It had only been about a half hour since my initial reaction, and since my Aunt Lydia had written to the Headmaster of this new pig wart place. Okay, I really needed to stop making fun of it. From what Thomas was telling me, it sounded like it would be my new home for at least the next two years…that is, if I managed to graduate. "Liz, Dumbledore said it'd be perfectly fine with him for you to attend Hogwarts, starting as soon as tomorrow."

Huh…WHAT!? TOMORROW! Okay, I almost choked on the juice I was having with my sandwich. I was being bounced from one new home to the next, and I was supposed to adjust, just like that, to a whole new WORLD by tomorrow? Okay, you tell me what's wrong with this picture.

"Uhm, mom…Liz still needs a wand," Thomas supplied, watching my reaction with a hint of laughter in his eyes.

"Oh yes, well then we'll just have to go to Diagon Alley then."

"What alley? Die again?" These names were just too odd.

"No Lizzie, Diagon Alley." My Aunt sent me a look of horror.

"Diagonal Alley?" Thomas and Andrew both cracked smiles when they realized I was yet again, making fun of these unfamiliar names. My Aunt actually laughed at me as well.

"Just hurry up and finish your lunch, and well head down to get you a uniform, school supplies and a wand." Oh fantastic. A uniform. Well, I had to be honest, I wasn't one who actually cared about uniforms or not, but I had not a clue what they could possibly look like. Would I have to wear a black witch's hat? Or striped black and purple stockings?

When we got to Diagon Alley, I was first amazed at the means to get into it. That was just crazy! A moving wall? Whoa, if this was my first introduction to magic, I couldn't wait to see what school would be like.

"Oh, a Toal! What a treat!" This Ollivander, I decided, was a little crazy. But enthusiastic about what he did, and his happiness was contagious.

After all his 'measurements' and questions about my personality, and just generally getting to get a real feel for who I was, he picked out a short, 10'' unicorn tail willow. I thought it would be jus the wand I would've picked out on my own.

The uniforms didn't turn out so badly after all. Of course, I was supposed to go back after I was sorted into my 'house' to get the appropriate colors for a scarf, sweaters and whatnot. I didn't think that that would be a very big problem. We passed the Quidditch shop on the way to the bookstore however, and I immediately bombarded Thomas with my questions about the magical sport. By the time my Aunt came to look for us, I had a rough idea of the sport. I wasn't satisfied however, and was determined to march right up to the quidditch captain of my house, and bombard him with more questions. I decided then and there, that if there was a wizard sport, I was going to play it. So what if I wasn't the most athletic teenager ever? I did have some experience with muggle sports. My dad, for one, was a huge basketball fan; he even coached a high school team! And while swimming wasn't the best example of a team sport, lacrosse made up for that.

"Come on Lizzie, I was just going to ask you if you wanted any other books for extra reading." Aunt Lydia literally had to drag me away from the quidditch shop, much to my disappointment. I realized then, that I didn't need any literature on fairytales, because I had just stepped into one of my own.

After more than a few minutes in the bookstore, I'd managed to pick out a book on quidditch, a book on charms (at first glance, that seemed to be the most interesting class to me…even just the name was tantalizing to me!) and a book about potions, because it seemed like I'd be needing the most help in that area.

"So how do we get to school?" That night, I couldn't sleep; what normal teenager was capable of getting a wink of shuteye before their first day of school? Being it new, or a very familiar school you return to each year, I know every single teenager experiencing that feeling has at least thought about not being able to sleep the night before.

"We're going to flu to Hogsmeade, and then walk up to the castle." I had to give Thomas credit; he was being awfully patient with me. It was already late at night, he looked pretty tired, and I was still in the room he shared with Andrew, bouncing slightly on the end of his bed, and repeating my questions at least twice.

Within the next hour, I'd managed to do a whole turnaround of mood. I found myself sneaking into bed with my Aunt, looking to be cuddled and comforted. I terribly missed my parents then, and really regretted feeling excited and happy without them. It didn't feel right to me; how could I go on living my life when they weren't able to do the same?

"It's okay to be happy without them, you know. They would want to see you smiling." My Aunt knew just what to say when she saw my tears. Even though, that was extremely cliché and in just about every movie when a kid's parents die, that phrase was repeated.

"Wow Aunt Lydia, that was really corny," I couldn't help but blurt that out. I also had to admit, she got me laughing and smiling through my tears.

"But it helped, didn't it?" How did mothers know so much? They were the true geniuses of our world. And in that moment, I realized exactly what everyone meant when they called my grade 'sophomores' and why I was still looked down upon by older kids and teachers. I was still just a teenager; not near all grown up. I still needed to be held, and told that everything was going to be okay. I still needed a grown-up in my life, a mother figure to hug me and kiss me and love me. There were some days when I wanted to shout, "Fuck off!" to the whole world, but then I realized, that I still needed to be loved, and cared after. I wouldn't have been able to survive on my own.

"Now go sleep, so you'll be fresh and ready to face that new school tomorrow." I took my Aunt's advice, and shuffled off to my own bedroom, where the blinds where still up, and the beautiful crescent moon was visible in the clear night sky.

I woke up the next morning in a fog. What had happened since the last time I'd woken up? Oh yeah, that's right. I was thrown head first into a whole new world full of new adventures, and above all, magic. I was off to a new school. My stomach felt like it had fallen off of the Empire State Building, once I realized that with this new school thing, I would meet all new classmates. Great, I was going to be, for the first time in my life, the new kid. The new girl everyone stared at and whispered about at mealtimes. The new girl who was from Australia? What ever did happen to her parents; the new girl who looked funny, spoke a different way, wasn't just like the rest of them, so she was shunned. Yeah, I had seen what happened to other new kids in my last school; I didn't like it then, and with that fate looming ahead of me, I lost any kind of courage I'd gained overnight.

"Aunt Lydie," I said. She looked up from where she was making us chocolate chip muffins to take back to school. She knew that when I called her that, I was scared or nervous about something.

"What it is babe?" Thank the lord for mothers. And godmothers, they really were the best.

"I'm scared the other kids at school won't like me." I did my best imitation of a five-year old, beginning her first day of school. And for me, this was a second first day of school. Wow, I thought you only got one of those normally. Oh yeah, right, I wasn't normal anymore. And surprisingly, I was happy about that. It took away some of the insignificance I felt pressing down on me, not unlike gravity, at all times.

"Oh I'm sure you'll get along just fine. You're a beautiful, smart girl. You'll be accepted just fine."

"Yeah, but I'm a muggle. I don't know the first thing about magic." I tried to ignore the wonderful compliment my aunt had just given me. I wasn't good with compliments; I tended to disagree with them…out loud. And that always caused problems, because it came off as if I was being ungrateful. Or just outright rude and attention-seeking, which, mind you, I was most certainly not!

"You really aren't sweetie; you're just getting a slow start. I'm positive you'll catch up in no time." I didn't realize my Aunt was able to cook with magic. And now that their secret was out…well, our secret actually, she was able to cook in front of me. The muffins were ready before Thomas even made it down the stairs, attempting to rub the sleep out of his eyes.

"Are you ready, Liz?" He seemed excited to go back to school, which was a very good sign. You knew that school was awesome if my fourteen year old cousin actually wanted to get back.

"No, but I don't think I'll ever be," I said quietly, hoping to get away with that.

"Oh, nonsense! Liz, take some breakfast…okay good, I sent your books and your uniform last night. Do you have your wand?"

"Yepp, even though it's really useless at this point."

"Oh, I think you'd be surprised…" The mysterious look my Aunt gave me was puzzling. I didn't have time to question her though, because Thomas had already disappeared through the green flames in the fireplace. Luckily, my family had prepared me for this one, and had let me get some practice in beforehand. I was armed and ready to face whatever was on the other side of that fireplace.

"Gosh Lizzy, you were taking forever over there!" That was the first time I'd heard Thomas complain since I'd been staying with him. And he had had plenty to complain about.

"Sorry, just had to say goodbye to Aunt Lydia," I said, as we walked out of the quaint pub we had traveled to, and out onto the cobblestone road. That was where I got the first glimpse of the castle, on that bright, crisp morning.

The leaves were changing, and looked absolutely stunning at the side of the castle. The lake, from this angle, reflected the castle a bit on its still surface. I can't even begin to describe the castle, that's how truly beautiful it was. Not to mention, I absolutely suck with descriptions. And the words I am capable of putting that castle into, did not due justice to the regal architecture, or even the sheer size of my new home.

Thomas and I pushed open the doors, to reveal a magnificently large entrance hall. "Come on," he'd said, grabbing my hand, and pulling me into what he'd called 'the Great Hall', which was to the left of the door we'd just entered through.

Of course I had one of those awkward, first day appearances. It just so happened that the whole school was in the Great Hall, eating breakfast as Thomas and I walked in. Dumbledore, or who I assumed him to be, the man with the near ridiculous beard, and sparkling blue eyes, seemed to expect us. The whole hall go quiet, and I noticed that the houses were separated into four different tables, which ran the whole length of the 'Great' Hall. It was appropriately named, because it truly was great.

"Ah, Miss Toal, we've been expecting you." I froze, along with the rest of the student body, when Dumbledore said my name, loud enough for everyone in the room to hear. "I am happy to be the first to welcome you to your new home, Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry." I wanted to burst out in giggles at the absurdity of the situation. Never in a million years would I have imagined that the death of my parents would lead to this, standing before at least four hundred students, being addressed by someone with a beard that he practically tripped over named Dumbledore, and actually accepting the fact that I, Elizabeth Toal, was not ordinary and perfectly normal, but in fact magical. My mind was pulled back to the task at hand though, I needed to be sorted; how else was I supposed to know where to sit? The students dressed in green along the far wall of the Great Hall were all sneering at me with contempt. Well, that eliminated one table I could possibly sit at. The table next to them, with the students dressed with yellow details on their uniforms, seemed particularly nice. The students seated at the next table, in blue, seemed they couldn't care either way, and began to speak among themselves once more. The table with the red adorned students seemed like the next best place for me to sit, because they all seemed nice enough and well, it was the closest.

"I believe we need to sort you?" I came out of my reverie just in time to hear Dumbledore address my…sorting…situation.

"Yes, sir." I was so terrified, standing up there in front of all those new classmates of mine, I was nearly paralyzed in fear.

"Well then, Professor McGonagall, if you do not mind," Dumbledore said, as he nodded to a Witch in green robes, and a very tight hairdo, whom was seated at the teachers' table to his right. A stool was brought forward, with an old, tattered hat on it. Of course, I was being forced to wear a witch's hat.

I didn't feel more awkward and silly, and outright ridiculous in my whole life than I did at that moment. The woman I had learned to be Professor McGonagall, had placed the Sorting Hat on my head after I took a seat on the stool, in front of the rest of the students. The hat slipped over my eyes, which helped to calm my nerves a smidge. I nearly screamed when it started talking to me, thought

"I newcomer! Yes, Lizzy Toal. Very frightened, are you." Was this a hat, or Yoda talking to me? "But loyal and courageous. You have a kind soul, and a good heart…so do belong with your cousin in Hufflepuff?" I recognized one of the houses names that Thomas mentioned to me. "No, that would be too easy, and you'd be too comfortable then. It's GRYFFINDOR!" After the hat shouted to the whole hall its decision, the table with the kids dressed in red and gold stood and cheered. I couldn't understand why they would all be so happy to get the weird, out of place, new girl in their house. After all, wasn't this was not the normal reaction teenagers had to newbies. And again, I realized that these weren't your average teenagers.

After I sat down with my new house, I had various classmates come up to me and introduce themselves. I was shocked to notice that the majority of them were boys. Well, maybe that was my mind playing tricks on me, or my ego inflating somewhat. Someone who stood out to me though, was a girl named Lily Evans. She had red hair, not quite as flaming red as Andrew's, and brilliant emerald green eyes. One look at her, and I could tell she was looking for a friend. And I was the perfect candidate, because like her, I was going to be a loner after all this hype, and all the rumors wore off. She also offered tutor me, for as long, with as many subjects as I needed help in. She was even honest enough to admit that Transfiguration was her weakest subject, and she suggested a couple of other students as tutors in that area. My first impression of this girl was that she was very sweet, sincere, and was definitely someone I wanted to be friends with; someone I could instantly bond to.

Upon leaving the Great Hall, to get to my first class (Professor McGonagall had handed me a class schedule just after I was sorted) on my first day of school, was when I had the most memorable experience of that whole day. Just outside, resting on the banister of the main staircase was a boy with jet black hair that practically looked blue in the morning light. He was laughing along with some friends, and even though his eyes were a cold gray, I could see a fire behind them that automatically let me know he had a love for life, and was extremely passionate. His extremely good looks didn't keep me from noticing him, either. Although his friends were just as good looking as he was, I was for whatever attracted to the boy with the cool gray eyes above them all. What was wrong with me? My first day of school, and I had already found a new crush? What I really that temperamental?

**A/N:** Well, this is the latest chapter. As I'm writing it, I still am Beta-less. Help, someone? Anyone? Reviews are appreciated, especially if I'm at all able to make this story better. There's always room for improvement! Just let me know how to improve it. Hope you enjoyed it!!


	5. Charming Boys and Destined Best Friends

Lily Evans and I instantly bonded, of course. She took me in like a lost puppy, and helped me find my way up to the Gryffindor dormitory. She even introduced me to that group of good looking boys I had noticed.

"Liz, these prats are," Lily was cut off by the one with messy black hair, and stunning hazel eyes.

"Delighted to meet you." I was taken aback. Never before had any boy been so…charming? Or was this one just making fun of me?

"Oh stop it James!" Lily smacked his arm in a friendly manner, suggesting she knew them better than I'd first expected.

"I'm Remus Lupin, pleased to meet you." The boy with sandy colored hair a shade darker than Thomas's, pretty blue eyes, and a tired shadow lighted upon his face, stepped forward to introduce himself. He was followed by Peter, the weasel-y looking one who wasn't quite as handsome as the rest of his friends. Not to mention, this Peter Pettigrew seemed sneaky and plain…dirty to me when I first met him. I reminded myself not to be judgmental, and turned to meet the boy that first grabbed my attention.

"Sirius Black, and your service," he said, bowing slightly in my direction. I smiled at him, amused at his joking demeanor and the spark behind his eyes.

"Liz Toal," I said, realizing not for the first time, how plain my name sounded.

"It's Liz then? I heard your name was Elizabeth."

"You twit! Liz is short for Elizabeth." Lily smacked Sirius gently upside his head. I laughed, realizing he was just joking around at his own stupidity, and quite possibly trying to get me to laugh. Well, if that was the case he succeeded.

"Got any other names we should be aware of?" He turned back to me, smiling.

"Well, sometimes people call me Lizzy. I had a friend back in America who used to joke around and call me Beth sometimes."

"Whoa, no way! You're from America!?" Sirius was again, joking around.

"Yes way! It's even called the United States sometimes!" Sirius laughed at me, and seemed to be glad that he pulled me out of my shell enough to be sarcastic around him. Now it was James who got interested in where this conversation was going.

"What's it like over there?"

"Across the pond?"

"What pond?" Sirius looked genuinely confused.

"It's a colloquialism for the Atlantic Ocean," I explained, hoping that I didn't come off as a total dork right away. Luckily, James Potter laughed in my favor.

"Well Lily, it seems like this one here is going to give you a run for your money." I looked around at my new classmates, suddenly worried Lily would feel threatened by me.

"Oh no, not really. I went to muggle school for nearly eleven years back home. I actually just found out I was a witch yesterday." In response to that, I got five pairs of shocked eyes staring back at me.

"And Dumbledore let you come here? Now?" Sirius was the first to put his thoughts into spoken words.

"Sirius, you ass! Shut up! You're making it sound like we don't want her here!" Lily, the ever considerate one, immediately calmed the fears that had sprouted up, thanks to Sirius.

"How could your parents keep something like that from you?" Remus's question sounded more rhetoric than anything, but I felt the need to answer it anyway.

"I honestly have no idea. They never, ever used magic around me. I hadn't the slightest idea until my aunt started throwing names around like 'Hogwarts' and 'Dumbledore'." I laughed a little awkwardly, but actually found that to be pretty funny.

"Your aunt? So you moved in with extended family?" I could easily see the confusion on Lily's face.

"Well, yeah. My cousins Thomas…he's in Hufflepuff, his brother Andrew who's eleven now, and my Aunt Lydia. My parents died…two days ago? Yeah, nearly two days ago." And again, five pairs of shocked eyes stared right back at me.

"Two days? And you're happy and laughing and all smiley? What's wrong with you?" Sirius seemed to have no thought process when he spoke. I liked the honesty better than pity, though.

"I honestly haven't a clue…I guess its shock, really. I was pulled out of school, told to only the most necessary items, and was put on a seven hour flight to London. My aunt picked me up to the airport, we drove six hours home, and then mentioned, by the way, you're a witch!"

"That is a whole lot to handle in two days." I don't know who said that, because my vision was being fogged up by tears welling up into them.

"Yeah, and it all just sort of hit me." I confessed, a few stray tears escaping from me, running down my face.

"Way to go Sirius, you've hardly met the girl five minutes and already managed to make her cry." While James tried to comfort me by blaming Sirius, Lily was more thoughtful and wrapped an arm around me.

"Well, welcome home. We're going to take care of you, there's no need to worry about any of that. And everyone here completely sympathizes with the emotional distress you must be in right now." That made me feel a little better. I still did not like the idea of pity, or sympathy of any kind; I could take care of myself! But on second thought, maybe I couldn't.

"Yeah, sorry Lizzy, that was my bad." I looked up to see Sirius facing me, a look of unquestionable sorrow in his eyes.

"Come on Liz; let's just get to upstairs and to bed. Tomorrow will be a better day." Just like the mother Lily was truly cut out to be, she led the way up to our dorm, which we shared with two other girls. They were not yet in the dorm, and I was asleep before they came up to bed.


	6. A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes

The next morning, I woke up to the brilliant autumn sunlight caressing my face, and making it impossible for me to continue to dwell any longer in my land of dreams. I was pleasantly reminded me of the opening scene to Cinderella, a favorite Disney movie of mine. I had the urge to start singing "A Dream is a Wish your Heart Makes," but satisfied myself with humming it as I got up and ready for my day.

"Good morning! You seem to be in good spirits." Lily was just coming from the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her still wet hair, and get pajamas in a bundle, which she folded and placed neatly in a dresser next to her own four poster.

"I really am," I agreed, as I grabbed a towel, my toothbrush, and some soap, "which is interesting, considering that this is my first day at a new school."

"Well that isn't a bad thing." I paused before continuing into the bathroom to take a shower myself. Lily continued, "I was terrified my first day here. But then again, I was eleven."

"I don't think age has much to do with it. More like personality. I for one am almost excited to start this new adventure!"

Lily laughed at my incredibly contagious mood. "There's one way to look at it."

I continued humming through my whole shower, and was almost sad to be finished washing my hair. The warm water relaxed me even further, and I couldn't imagine being in a better mood. I hoped my parents were watching down on me at that moment, because they'd definitely be proud of my demeanor, and how well I responded to this whole ordeal.

I brushed my teeth quickly, and looked up to look at myself in the mirror before going and joining Lily for breakfast. I sighed as the reflection in the mirror revealed ugly, average brown eyes, and uninteresting, straight brown hair. A few pimples remained on pale skin, which forgot how to glow, ever since the summer ended.

"Well, this is as good as it's going to get," I said in a defeated tone to my reflection. That was just about the only thing that could get me down that day; how boring my appearance still was. I couldn't deny that I had extremely low self esteem, however stubborn and determined I was to hide it. I honestly and most truthfully found myself to be unattractive, and had decided a long time ago, that if I were a boy, I'd never date myself; let alone even give me a second chance.

"Liz? Are you okay in there?" How did Lily know that my mood was altered just now, however slightly? Oh, that's right. I had stopped humming my Disney theme song.

"Uhm…yeah, I'm fine," I said, deciding that I wasn't going to let my own appearance get me down today. No sir-ee, I was determined to be happy today.

We got into what I learned to be the Common Room, and James, Sirius and Remus were already waiting for us there.

"Where's Peter?" Lily immediately noticed the absence of their friend.

"Dunno, he was gone when we woke up," Sirius supplied. He seemed eager to get down to breakfast, and had started fidgeting while waiting for us.

"How odd," Lily said, obviously pondering where Pettigrew could have possibly got off to. She explained to me later that he was never one to rise very early; in fact, none of the four boys were.

"Okay, enough with the questioning, I'm hungry! Let's go." Sirius couldn't wait any longer. He hardly looked over his shoulder to see if the rest of us were following him.

We got down to the Great Hall, and Lily guided me over to where two other girls our age were seated. She waved goodbye to James and co., before introducing me to Ella and Samantha, our roommates.

Ella was a very pretty girl. I imagined if she were to be described by Jane Austen's pen, she would be characterized as 'plain'. Even if Jane Austen thought that way, I didn't. I fancied that I would not have been bothered at all to have pretty blue eyes, or dark brown hair like Ella. Even though her skin was very pale, and there was nothing extra ordinary about her bone structure, or her features, I thought she was still absolutely beautiful. Samantha's bouncy curls caught my attention, after I surveyed Ella's beauty. Sam (as she insisted I call her) had her hair styled short; above her shoulders. This of course, did wonders for the way her hair held volume. Every time she moved her head, she would send her beautiful honey colored locks into elegant waves, nearly reminding me of the ocean. Her eyes were a delicate brown, and for whatever reason, popped. Yes, her eyes, even though they were brown and quite ordinary, stood out most prominently. Perhaps her irises were lighter towards the inside than the outside? Or maybe it was because they were unexpected next to her hair color and complexion. Either way, Sam was also put into my book as a very pretty girl. A girl I felt, would easily give me apprehensions if she started speaking to my boyfriend. A funny way to describe someone's beauty, I realize, but the truth all the same.

With Lily seated next to me, and Sam and Ella across from me, I realized with much admiration, that I was surrounded by three very pretty girls; and perhaps because of their good looks, were three of the most popular girls at Hogwarts. That was the feeling I got radiating from the rest of the student body, who seemed interested that I was so welcomed into their group. I assumed it was just luck on my part; luck that I was sorted into Gryffindor, and therefore was able to share a dormitory with them. However, sitting with these girls, I would have never thought that they were the most admired and popular girls here. They were gorgeous, yes, and happy and unmistakably kind, but the aura given off of them just didn't have any desire to be the center of attention; they were quiet and shy at heart, and would do nothing to purposefully be in the midst of anyone's interest, let alone the whole schools'.

"So Liz, you excited for your first day?" Sam seemed thrilled for something so out of place, someone new and exciting to speak to and get to know. It seemed the newness I brought with me was not only an adventure to me.

"Yes, actually, very. I can't wait to meet everyone, and start using magic!" The way Ella looked up from her plate, suggested that she, like everyone else I'd met so far, had no idea of my background. I hated repeating myself, but I realized that their ignorance was a good thing. That meant that rumors hadn't been spread about me, and that no one was speaking about me before I'd arrived.

"You've never used magic before?" Ella seemed just as curious as Sirius had the night before, only was much more polite.

"Nope; I was only told I'm a witch a few days ago. Three, at the most," I remained pleasant and cheerful, although this conversation was already bringing back fresh and painful memories.

"How intriguing! If you need any help, with anything at all, we'd love to help." Ella offered, looking from Sam to herself, speaking for both of them.

"Yes, of course. It's not every day that you get to meet someone your own age who's never known magic before," Sam said, acknowledging that Ella had been correct in supposing that she'd love to assist me with anything.

"That seems to be true," I agreed, realizing that all young witches and wizards began their education at eleven, or ever earlier; beginning in their own homes.

As the four of us continued our pleasant and care-free conversation, the mail flew in. When I say flew, I really mean it; owls came and delivered care packages, letters from loving mothers and such to the students, who in return gave their owls pieces of food off of their own plates, or otherwise gave little acknowledgments of affection to the nocturnal animals. I couldn't help myself; I was compelled to stare in amazement at the scene unfolding before me.

"Not used our form of communication yet?" Lily followed the amazement in my gaze towards the general splendor and novelty of birds delivering the mail.

"No, and I doubt I'll ever be."

"Oh, you barely notice it after a while," Ella said, her smile evident in her voice. There was an easiness among us when we spoke, that was an instant indication of our future friendship. This of course, was going to be an undeniable and pleasant friendship. I knew at that moment, that the caring these girls welcomed me with, would never cease, and that I would always be able to go to them with anything; for anything at all. I had found friends that would care for me; friends that would be there when I missed my parents, or became overwhelmed with this new world. These friends would pick me up when I fell down, and I would always be able to count on them.

"What class do you have first, Liz?" Lily peered over my shoulder, to get a good look at the schedule I held in front of me. I was going to ask her where Transfiguration was regardless, but I had just pulled my class schedule out, and hadn't yet gotten the chance to ask her.

"Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall," I said, so that Ella and Sam would hear just as well. Being in our house, they had almost identical schedules to Lily and me, and it became apparent that we shared the same first period class.

"She's almost unbearable this early in the morning," Sam explained, as we walked upstairs to the second floor.

"Yeah, maybe that's why I do so badly in this class," Ella said, looking with a little bit of dread, towards the classroom our fellow Gryffindors were filing into.

"Or maybe it's because Transfiguration is hard for all of us," Lily said, "because this isn't the first year you have done poorly. Same goes for me."

"Well, I don't think anyone gets top marks in this class except for the marauders." I looked at Sam, utterly confused.

"The who?" I laughed to myself inwardly. The Who was a favorite band of Thomas's, and he would've used this opportunity to point out the pun, if he were here.

"The marauders, it's what James and his friends call themselves," Lily said, with an excellent eye-roll. I could see that James and his friends were a well-worn subject amongst this group of girls, because both Ella and Sam sent all-knowing smiles Lily's way.

"There's something more to those boys than I think, isn't there," I asked, looking from Sam to Ella and from Ella to Lily.

"Of course there is, why else would we be pestering Lily all the time?" I turned around to see James, Sirius and Remus standing behind us. James had just answered my question, in an almost conceited tone. I could tell there was still laughter and sarcasm behind his words, and smiled at the boys.

"James-y here has a little crush," Sirius explained, rocking back and forth, from his heels to his toes and back again.

"Oh, do we have to bring this up on her first day?" Lily seemed almost flabbergasted to me now, and supplied a second, well-executed eye roll.

"Yes Lily dear, we must. Everyone has a right to know," Sirius said. It was plain to me that he was teasing her, by the tone of his voice.

"Well it isn't exactly…pleasant for me that everyone knows James fancies me."

"That's just too bad for you now, isn't it?" I was mildly surprised that even though the conversation revolved around James's special feelings towards Lily, he was not adding to the conversation at all.

"Let's just go to class before we're late. McGonagall will accuse us of demonstrating to Liz bad habits on her first day if we are." Lily gave Sam a look that screamed 'thank you'. I turned along with Ella, Sam and Lily and we made our way into my first class of the day.


	7. Chicks before Dicks

During Transfiguration, luckily I got a seat next to Lily, and in front of us Ella and Sam were quick to grab seats. Unfortunately, Lily didn't have friends enough to completely surround here, and therefore shield her from James Potter, so the two of us got stuck sitting in front of James and his partner in crime, Sirius. The desks in Transfiguration were doubles, obviously, which made it convenient for Lily and I to have a conversation via whispers. What wasn't convenient though was the fact that it was my first day, and I had absolutely no clue what was going on in the class. Luckily I had a couple of tutors already lined up to teach me the basics later.

"So what about James?" I had to mouth his name, evident that both himself and Sirius were listening ever intently to our conversation, and a chance at overhearing his name would spark some increased interest in what we were saying.

"He's been claiming he's in love with me since we were like twelve." I could tell already Lily was looking for some possible way to change the subject. I wasn't going to let her off that easily, though.

"Oh, come on. You almost know my life story by now. Tell me some more about him." I could tell that playing the guilt card would be my golden ticket into the chocolate factory which was the subject of James Potter.

"Fine, fine! He's liked me forever, but he can't seem to stop be so self-absorbed for long enough to notice that he's too egotistical, arrogant, and outright conceited to gain my interest. If he wants me to serious consider a relationship with him, then he has to learn how to grow up."

"Oh, so you have thought about it."

"I have not!" I already could tell when Lily was lying; I shot her a look that told her exactly that. "Okay, okay! I have; hence my reasons for not already seriously attempting a relationship with him. It's only been in the last couple of months that I've started taking any sort of special interest in him though, you've got to realize that I've got a reputation to uphold."

"Oh really? You don't seem one to be overly proud."

"Oh I'm not. But you see, I've loathed James ever since we first met on our first day here. There's no way I can just turn around and admit that I actually fancy him a lot. Too much, to be honest; I fancy him too much for my own good."

"Aw Lily! That's adorable. And I don't think that that should stop you! Tell him!"

"I can't! Not yet at least…he still has quite a bit of growing up to do."

Professor McGonagall was actually quite nice to me on my first day. She didn't interrupt the conversation Lily and I had in her class; probably because she figured Lily was helping me. She did, actually, but that was later when we got back to the common room after dinner. McGonagall spared me from homework for the week so I could catch my breath with the whole magic thing.

The second period of my first day, I had Herbology, with the rest of my fellow Gryffindors and the Hufflepuffs. I found Professor Rose to be a lovely woman, and the class was actually understandable for me. My grandfather, or Poppy, as I called him, was very into his garden, and it was inevitable that I would pick up some of his passion by being around him so often. When I lived with my parents, he'd come to visit every Sunday, and with the weather forbidding, he'd go outside and putz around in our garden. It didn't take me very long to begin to memorize some of the more common household and otherwise domestic garden plants, and I even started remembering little tidbits about each one. Like marigolds, they smelled awful and squirrels hated eating them, as opposed to tulips, because the little buggers would dig up those bulbs the same day I tried planting them.

I found Herbology to be much like botany, so I was comfortable in that area, and found that second period was a rather chilly and serene time of day to head out to the greenhouses. Third period, we all headed back inside for charms, which was Lily's favorite class. Her excitement was quite obvious as early as the end of second period, when she began to pack up her things before anyone else.

"In a rush to get to our next class," I asked her, feeling as if I were in heaven, getting dirt under my nails and the smell of fresh flowers in my hair.

"Yes, actually I am! And don't you dare make fun of me for it, but we have charms next. And that, Lizzy, is my favorite class."

I couldn't help but laugh at her, but it wasn't because I was making fun of her, but because I was so completely happy at that moment. The sun had just started shining, and I could feel a warmth spreading through my bones, even if it was just going to seep out again once I reached my cold, dark room later that night to go to bed. That was when I found myself in a place very, very far away and unacquainted with happiness. "Oh really. And what exactly, is Charms?"

"It's the most wonderful class, I'm sure you're going to love it!" Lily's smile was nearly as radiant and warm as the sun was, as it seeped through the windowpanes of the greenhouse.

"I'm sure I'm going to love it, because I love this whole new idea of magic in general." We were now heading back up to the big oak doors which led back into the school building. "However, I'm very confused how the classes are broken down. What kind of spells, or magic-based skills do we learn in Charms?"

"Well, it's a bit hard to explain," Lily began, and was interrupted by Sam's laugh.

"It is not hard to explain! Lily, since when has anything been hard for you to explain?" Ella nodded and giggled in agreement.

"Oh, it's not that I can't tell her what we learn in the class, it's just…I'm thinking about the certain…feeling I get from Charms, the mood, the emotion of the class." She turned back to me, after addressing Sam and Ella. "Liz, it's like…being home. We learn household spells, and little tricky spells that can be used almost anywhere. It's not like Defense Against the Dark Arts, or Transfiguration, where we learn one specific kind of spell casting; in Charms, we have a very general topic…it's almost like learning English in muggle school. What we learn about spell casting, and wand movements, and pronunciation in Charms, can be applied and used in nearly every other aspect of magic, and our magical culture." With Lily's little speech, I imagined being back in my favorite, 8th period English class, with the teacher that I loved, and a classroom full of peers I admired. If I was going to miss anything more than that from my other life, it was going to be my parents.

Lily was quite right in her description of Charms. Professor Flitwick was quite enthusiastic about his subject of teaching, and the majority of his students seemed to have mutual feelings for that particular area of magic. However, it was Lily who appeared to be the most esteemed, and favorite student of Professor Flitwick, and upon observation, I could easily upon first impression understand her love for Charms. She absolutely thrived in this area, and I could feel her heart was at ease immediately we stepped into the classroom. She was even at peace enough to put up with James for the period, and I could tell he was trying his very hardest to put a good impression of himself upon her. Unfortunately for him, it was for no avail. The moment Lily, Sam, Ella and myself stepped foot out of the classroom, she began complaining.

"Does he really imagine that I might actually care to flirt with him all period long?"

"Oh, Lily, he's just trying to get on your good side," Ella said.

"Poor boy, he's never going to gain your affection, is he?" I nearly fell over after hearing Sam's words; I thought I first that she really was clueless how Lily felt. She was certainly not the type of girl to confide such an important tidbit about her social life to a virtual stranger. Not that I considered any of my new friends strangers anymore, but she had no idea of my intentions; whether they be good or bad. Then, however, I noticed the way Sam was smirking in Lily's direction, and the way Lily eyes turned gloomy for a minute or too. She obviously felt some guilt about what Sam had just touched upon. All of us now knew that she indeed did fancy James Potter…she just had no intentions whatsoever of letting him know.

"Sam, you know that that's not necessarily true," the guilt was also evident in the cadence and tone of Lily's voice.

"Well to every outsider seeing the way you treat him…"

"…and the way you shut him down constantly" Ella and Sam were able to finish one another's sentences. This talent astounded me; for however long my friends back home and I had known each other, and been close to each other, this little faculty evaded us.

"Well I didn't shut him down back there, now did I?" Lily was very quick to defend herself, and I did not blame her in this instant. If my friends were listing all my faults, and pointing out how I was practically torturing a particular boy, I would be defensive and a little angry myself. Lily, on the other hand, was taking the whole situation very well; my heart went out to my newly made friend.

The cornering conversation came to an abrupt end, upon our arrival to Potions class. Luckily, as Lily pointed out to me, us Gryffindors had the fortune of working with the Hufflepuffs in Potions, instead of being trapped in a cramped, claustrophobic dungeon with the Slytherins, or as Sirius had explained it to me over my shoulder, the inherently (okay, well he didn't use such extensive vocabulary) evil students of Hogwarts, who were most certainly out to get us all.

Potions with Professor Slughorn was interesting. This time I was seated next to Sirius, because Remus and Lily were partners, and James and Ella were, and Sam seemed extremely skittish, although elated to be partnered with a very cute Hufflepuff boy by the name of Rick, with dark hair and dazzling, jewel-blue eyes. Sirius was intent to whisper all of this in my ear, along with descriptions of how everyone else chose their partners for this class. Apparently, most were paired with a member of the opposite gender, and someone they had an extra-special liking for. Except James, which was rather unfortunate…but again, Sirius pointed out, could have been worse seeing as he was stuck next to Lily's best friend. And what he couldn't find out about Lily through first-hand experiences and dialogues, he could indeed learn from first-hand experiences and dialogues with Ella, one of the girl's she lived with, and told everything to.

"So how do you like it here so far?" Sirius and I had kept a conversation going since we stepped into the dungeon converted classroom, beginning with why I was supposed to hate Slytherins so much.

"I think I do…I mean, I'm trying to make the best of it because it seems as if I'm stuck here for a bit. But it's most definitely not hard to make the best of." I wasn't even sure if that made sense, but I figured that if I didn't, he'd just have to get used to the fact that I was cute when incomprehensible. That is, if he liked me the way I liked him…already.

Sirius's giggle made me smile, as he replied, "well that is good, I guess. Of course, I bet it's not only because of the whole magic thing, I think it's because you like the people here so much already." He totally left out the tiny little detail that oh, we were in an ancient, absolutely gorgeous castle. I was now living in a legitimate castle! With towers and a Great Hall and everything! The drafty hallways were just as real as the antique architecture.

"Oh really…and why do you think that?" I wasn't too sure if one could consider this flirting, but to me this went beyond a conversation two friends would enjoy having. Two acquaintances would have, in fact. I still lacked any knowledge of Sirius Black.

"Because, you've taken a special liking to…" I didn't even realize it was the end of the period already, but the bell rang as Sirius was ending his spoken observation, and while I was eager to find out by means of asking him again, Lily came over to where we were sitting, and I was forced to pack up quickly and walk upstairs to lunch with her, Ella and Sam. Well, I wasn't forced, but you don't exactly go on speaking to a boy when your best friends are waiting. Besides, the saying is chicks before dicks.


	8. Secrets, Secrets are no fun

As all of us walked to lunch, that is, Ella, Sam, Lily, James, Remus, Sirius, Peter and myself; we were all enjoying a very relaxed conversation between the eight of us. It wasn't on anything in particular; and Remus had initiated it, bringing up that I would need more than one tutor, and helped me enlist the help of Lily, James, Ella, and even Sirius for tutoring in various subjects. Lily was amazing at Charms and Potions; and magic in general, and she would be helping me the most; teaching me how to cast spells and assisting me in memorizing certain basic, standard areas of magic. James was exceptional at Transfiguration, and would help me nearly as much as Lily, because that class was so hard, and McGonagall an even harder grader. Ella was extremely talented in the area of Divination, and according to her and Sam, would teach me how to cheat my way brilliantly through the class. Sirius, who would help me the least, was my tutor for Defense against the Dark Arts. The subject seemed gloomy to me altogether, and I wouldn't have been excited about it in the least, except that he promised to sit next to me in that class, as well as tutor me every Friday night. That is, after he got back from Quidditch practice.

"What's Quidditch?" I felt completely stupid asking the question, and stared at my feet, not feeling so comfortable in the midst of the conversation anymore.

"Oi! Mate! We forgot to tell her about Quidditch!" Sirius became very animated at the mention of his and especially James's area of expertise. He clapped his friend on the back, and I nearly expected the two of them to begin jumping up and down and giggling with excitement.

Lily rolled her eyes, "they'll take any chance they can get to talk about it. For right now, all you need to know is that it's a wizard's sport played on brooms. I won't ruin their fun and tell you any of the details." I was excited to hear of any sort of sport in the wizarding world. Back home, my parents and I watched a lot of basketball, and I knew my aunt and cousins whom I was now living with loved soccer…well, football.

"I didn't know you guys had a sport! And you fly in it! That's sooooo cool!" I couldn't help it; I had always wanted to be able to fly. The idea of being on a skinny little broom scared me though, because the way I figured it, it was extremely easy to fall off. But no wonder Sirius and James were so…fit. They had the most perfect bodies I'd ever seen on teenage boys.

The two of them turned back to me, after hearing their enthusiasm reflected in my own voice and disposition. "You…you like sports?"

"You're not afraid of flying?" First James, then Sirius, voiced their surprise, and proceeded to stare at me, their mouths hanging wide open.

"Are you sure you don't have any siblings?" Ella asked me, laughter evident in her voice.

"What about a long-time boyfriend who was a real adrenaline junky?" Sam provided, laughing just as much as Ella and now Lily were.

"Come on guys, a girl does not need a male figure in her life that's in love with sports in order to enjoy them herself."

"Yeah, but then she'd have to act more like a boy and less like a girl…and Lizzy here does not seem to act like a boy…but she understands a passion for sports." Sirius interceded, and I couldn't help but crack up.

"Guys, I had a dad, okay? He coached basketball for a while, and my cousins are really into soccer…err…football. But I'm more tomboyish than you seem to realize."

I had seven pairs of eyes stare back at me, well actually six. Peter had walked on without us, probably too hungry to be patient enough for the conversation. Remus was the first to regain normalcy.

"Sorry Elizabeth, but we're not exactly used to American girls, I guess."

"Remus, call me Liz!" I hated my full name sometimes; it was too formal and long. I didn't feel like I was good enough for my name just yet.

"Sorry…but you seem to have been brought up in a society much different than the majority of the students here."

"Moony, stop that she's not going to know what you mean," James was about to continue when Remus interrupted him.

"James, I'm sure she's more than capable to comprehend what I'm saying. E…Liz here is not a dim girl."

"Gosh, I would hope I don't come across as dim! But I have to be honest, I'm completely lost." The easiness among us was back once again, and I wasn't tempted to stare at my rather boring penny loafers anymore.

"See what I mean, Moony? She's not dim, but she has no experience or background information of the wizarding world." James then turned to me, with a very kind look in his eye, almost as if he were trying to send me apologies via brainwave. "Lizzy, most of these witches and wizards…well actually nowadays it's about half, of them are from pureblood families. Meaning, that they're from families in which magic is present on both sides, and has been since the beginning of time. My family is one of them…as is Sirius's. Now, Lily here, is muggle-born, but of magical ability. If she were to marry a pureblood, then that pureblood line would be considered, by most patriarchs of a family, spoiled. It's a bit medieval, but there's a long-practiced tradition of arranged marriages, and young ladies of pureblood descent have been accustomed to the primping, social grooming and upbringing these pureblood families might have bestowed upon them, in order to be able to marry them off to another well-known pureblood family of a high status." I had been silent throughout his whole speech, and by his cadence, I could tell James wasn't quite finished; but I couldn't help it anymore, I had to interrupt him.

"Medieval!? Just a little! How could someone possibly stand all that? It's absurd! Completely barbaric!"

"It's not that bad, Lizzy, when that's all you've ever known; all you're used too." Sam had taken on a sort of regal air, and was very calm and patient with her answer. It only dawned on me then that James and Sirius weren't the only purebloods in this conversation. I looked at Sam, and then Ella.

"You guys too?" The two of them nodded, and then I looked at Remus, who also confirmed his although unfair, higher status within the wizarding world. "So Lily and I…are the only muggle-born in this group?"

"That's just the thing Lizzy; we have no idea whether your parents were magic capable or not. I can only assume they're not, otherwise they would have most likely been able to save their own lives in any sort of accident or situation that would otherwise kill a muggle. Although, your cousins are just as magical as you are…"

"My mother's sister was brought up as your average, run-of-the-mill human being. My Uncle Tom is the one with the magic ability…at least, that's what I've been told…" I only then, at that moment in the space just before the Great Hall, began to consider the events that had lead me to this…exhilarating place. Was my Aunt Paula really a muggle, like my mother? But what were the chances that they both married wizards, and had children with magic running through their veins? But then, why would they lie to me…or in the very least, keep the truth from me about being witches? Why were they hiding that from me?


End file.
